Seven university students were rescued yesterday morning after spending more than 15 hours lost in a cave near Ballyvaughan in north Clare.
The seven were part of a group potholing on Sunday afternoon.
They had entered the cave at Poulnagorm, a well-known cave near Slieve Elva, at midday.
When the group failed to meet friends that evening, the alarm was raised and a major rescue operation was led by the Doolin Cave Rescue and Ennistymon gardai.
The students, from colleges in Dublin and Belfast, were treated for minor cuts and bruises.
One of those rescued, Ms Niamh Murphy from Dublin, said yesterday there were two groups.
One used one entrance, the second another and "We were supposed to meet halfway," she said.
Her group "got lost in the maze of caves after almost two hours. We went through all the tunnels and eliminated them one by one," she added.
"When we couldn't find our way out we decided to just to sit there and stay put and wait for them to come to us.
"They did eventually, about 2 1/2 hours later," Ms Murphy said.
She said they only had a couple of cuts and bruises.
A Garda spokesman said they were in good spirits, but cold, and there were no serious injuries.